Wrapped Up: A Triple Threat Sports Romance (6 page)

If he was covering something up, it was even more important for him to make sure our wedding and marriage worked out for as long as we could make it.

Jake

With Brooke moved in, it felt safe to go back to life as normal. I didn’t have to worry about her anymore. Once again, I had everything under control. I had felt like I needed to watch my step while she was still staying at her place. I didn’t know what to expect from her. It felt like every time I saw her or spoke to her, things had changed dramatically in our situation. By having her at the house, I felt like I could control how our arrangement was going to work a little better. I expected fewer surprises.

After practice the day after she moved in, I called a meeting of the network with Lucky and Harley. I needed to relax and blow off some steam, but I also needed to check in with the guys to see how things were going since we were just a few days away from the first game of the season. I wanted to make sure everything was in place and everyone knew their parts.

Yes, there were games where the outcomes were planned. It wasn’t as often as irate fans claimed when their teams lost key games, but it was a lot more often than the owners and coaches wanted anyone to believe. There was a lot of money in rigging things like games and stats. That money was what created the lifestyle Brooke would soon be enjoying as my pretend-fiancée.

“Where’ve you been, man?” Lucky asked me, shoving my shoulder as we sat down at the bar to order our first round of drinks. He was laughing and playing around, but I could hear a hint of seriousness in his voice.

“Yeah, we’ve got a lot riding on this upcoming season, Jake,” Harley chimed in. “We need all hands on deck to pull it off.”

“I’ve been busy,” I told them dismissively as I nodded at the bartender to get her attention. She was a tiny little thing in low-rider jeans that hugged her hips and ass perfectly. She wore a small leather vest that barely covered her perky little breasts and showed off her midriff. Her flat stomach was tight, and I could see the muscles in her thin little arms as well. She had chestnut brown hair in tight, wet-looking curls and dark, dark eyes.

When she walked over to get our orders, I almost asked for a taste of her, but I figured I’d leave her to the other guys if they decided they were feeling her. My mind was elsewhere, and it was driving me crazy. I didn’t know who was watching, though, so I decided to play it cool, for now.

We ordered our beers, and I ordered a round of shots for the guys.

“Three whiskeys,” I told her. “No, make that four. You’re taking one, too, beautiful.”

“I’m on the clock, sweet talker,” she said.

“Like you don’t drink on the clock. Pour one for yourself,” I insisted with a wink.

She smiled and shook her head as she poured all four shots.

“What’s the occasion?” she asked after she handed us our shot glasses and lifted her own.

“First game of the season is coming up,” I told her. “This shot is for good luck.”

“Oh, you think this shot is going to make you lucky?” she asked with a tempting smile on her face.

“No, he’s Lucky,” I told her, pointing at Lucky, sitting next to me.

“That’s my name. Cheers,” he said, raising his glass to her.

We tilted our glasses up and drank the whiskey before our bartender disappeared to serve another customer.

“So, what have you been so busy with?” Lucky asked. “You’ve been dipping out right after practice every day.”

“Not to mention all the times you’ve just disappeared in the middle of the day,” Harley added.

“Well, you know how Coach told us Mr. Clark wants us to have steady girlfriends and all that?” I asked.

“Yeah. Bastard.”

“Well, I’ve got some news. I’m doing one better. I’m getting married.”

“What the fuck?” Lucky shouted. “Are you crazy, Jake?”

“Let’s hear him out, Cade.” Harley used Lucky’s real name like a calming hand on his shoulder to hold him back.

“Yeah, come clean, man. What are you up to?”

“I ran into one of my exes after the meeting where Coach first told us about the whole thing, and it turns out she needs a husband just like I need a girlfriend.” I knew that telling anyone the truth about the arrangement was risky business, but the guys deserved to know.

“So it’s just a business arrangement,” Harley clarified.

“Well, shit, man, you can get with our bartender, then. I saw the way you were looking at each other,” Lucky added.

I laughed. “It’s not that simple, though I wish it were.”

“What do you mean? If it’s just for show, surely you can have a little fun on the side. Man, don’t tell me you guys have already tied the knot. You have to let us be there for that,” Harley insisted.

“Who is it?” Lucky asked.

“You guys might not know her since you’re not from around here originally, but it’s Brooke Scott.”

“Wait, as in Scott Enterprises?” Harley said. I thought he was going to spit out his beer when I first said her name.

“Yeah, that’s her. Her dad owns the business, and he’s talking about turning it over to her in full once we get married. So I figured I’d help her out. We’re old friends.”

“Sounds like you might have been more than old friends, bud,” Lucky joked. “So, are you going to try to hit it again, for old time’s sake?”

“Cade, shut up,” I said with a laugh. The fact was I had been thinking about it a lot. Since we’d run into each other at the store, I had been wondering if her body still felt the same as it had back in school. Just because it was business didn’t mean we couldn’t have some fun while we were at it.

“I’m just saying, man. You might as well enjoy it.”

“Yeah, but that’s not the only reason I decided to come out tonight,” I told them both.

“Oh, you want to talk business now,” Harley said, nodding. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Everyone’s ready for the first game. The money is ready to be moved once this weekend is over.”

“Good.” Gambling on games was risky business. Rigging those games to control the outcomes was even worse. Our careers would be over if we were ever caught, and that wasn’t even the worst fate we could have faced, but we made enough money to keep people quiet. The network was also big enough to ensure that no one talked.

Injuries did happen from time to time. Injuries, especially career-ending injuries, had a way of keeping people quiet. We weren’t too worried.

We ended up closing down the bar even though we had to be up for practice at the crack of dawn. We had to be on the field by the time the sun came up. That meant a long, rough day ahead, but it was worth it to get to hang out with the guys again and make sure the season was truly ready to start.

It was also worth it to get the bartender to drink a few more shots with us. As sexy and tempting as her body was, I wasn’t feeling it. As we were leaving the bar, I told her I’d come back for her another night. She smiled and giggled, but she wasn’t buying it. To her, I was probably just another drunk declaring his true love for her.

We had to work on our image anyway. I knew we couldn’t be seen leaving the bar as late as we were, but it was also incredibly unlikely that anyone would be watching. It was before the official start of the season, and we hadn’t started any fights or anything like that. We were okay, but we agreed to party discreetly once the season started, if that was even possible.

I made the guys hop in the car with me so they weren’t driving home after as many drinks as we’d consumed. I told my driver where to take everyone, and he made sure we all got home alright.

I stumbled into the house, tired and a little tipsy. I knew if I had another drink or two, it would push me over the edge, and I wouldn’t be able to make it to practice on time in the morning.

I saw dishes in the sink, and an amazing aroma filled the kitchen. Then I remembered Brooke had been at the house all night while I had been out drinking with the guys. Even though we weren’t really together, it felt weird to be coming home late like I was.

I had figured it would have been alright to go out and leave her to her own devices, but when I realized she’d been alone all night, it hit me that I was going to have to step up to the plate a little better. I had a lot to figure out, and there was no way I was going to come to any coherent conclusions in my current state.

I went to the fridge to pull out something to eat, and found a note stuck to the door.

Your dinner is in the oven.

“In the oven?” I asked the note, as if the piece of paper could have told me anything more than it already had.

I walked over to the oven and opened it to find a plate of food wrapped in foil. I set it on the counter and peeled back the foil to find a steak, a baked potato, and some asparagus on my plate. I tested the steak and potato with my finger. It was still warm enough to eat. She must have cooked it pretty late, I thought.

I grabbed a knife and a fork, and took my plate into the dining room, where I sat at the table and started to eat. I cut into the juicy, tender steak to find that it was mostly pink on the inside. I took my first bite, sinking my teeth into the meat, bursting with flavor.

Before I realized it, I had devoured the steak. I grabbed a few pieces of asparagus and bit into them. They tasted like they’d been cooked alongside the steak. And the potato was perfectly cooked as well.

If I had known she was such a good cook, I would have come straight home from practice. I definitely felt like I could have grown accustomed to that kind of food every night. I felt horrible for running out on her and leaving her to fend for herself and eat such an amazing dinner all alone.

Truthfully, I hadn’t even expected her to cook for me. But the night I ran into her for the first time in over a decade, we’d been at the grocery store, and she’d been picking up food to prepare just for herself. I should have paid more attention. I should have been more aware of her when making my plans. I also needed to start letting her know where I was going to be and when I was going to be out of the house.

I put my empty plate in the sink and started looking for her to thank her for dinner. It was late, but I didn’t want to wait until morning. I knocked on her bedroom door, and when there wasn’t an answer, I tried the doorknob. Surprised to find it unlocked, I opened her door and crept inside. She wasn’t in bed.

She wasn’t in the pool or on the patio. She wasn’t on any of the balconies looking over the grounds. She wasn’t in my room, which really would have been a pleasant surprise.

I finally found her in my library. I laughed to myself as I entered the room to find the lamp next to the big armchair on. My sister had insisted on setting up the library for me. But this was the first time it had ever been used. I hadn’t even set foot in the library since the house had been built. Literary masterpieces simply weren’t my thing.

Apparently, they were Brooke’s thing. She sat in the large armchair, engrossed in the pages of a hardcover book. I didn’t even know what was on my shelves. I just knew that my sister had chosen some of what she considered the most valuable books ever written. She was the literature student, not me.

Brooke looked at home with her face buried in a book. She wore silk pajamas that showed off her thin body and hugged her subtle curves. She sat with her legs crossed and the book resting open in her lap. I didn’t say anything as I approached her, as I didn’t want to disturb her from her reading.

I watched her blue eyes as they followed the text on the pages. She devoured the words before her as if they were as delicious as the steak she had cooked for me. I watched in awe of her silent beauty until she looked up from the book to find me standing before her.